What’s your current position at your brewery, and how did you get started in the craft brewing industry?

I’m the head brewer at Banded Oak Brewing Co. in Denver. I got started by taking a part-time job back in 2008 flipping glass and scrubbing floors at a local brewery to help pay for school.

What’s new at Banded Oak?

A 2018 Great American Beer Festival gold medal!

What’s the best part of being a part of the craft brewing community?

The fact that I have thousands of friends all across the world—half of them I don’t even know, but I can walk into almost any brewery and be treated like a brother.

Name a favorite food and beer pairing.

Feijoada and good, clean, malty Pilsner.

What’s your biggest accomplishment unrelated to your job?

Marrying the most beautiful woman in the world, which can actually be traced back to beer… Also, I successfully changed out the fuel pump in my Ford Bronco once.

What’s your favorite beer that your brewery does not produce?

Gulden Draak.

What’s the most memorable travel destination at which you’ve had a chance to sample the local beer?

I was invited on a tour along the east coast of Brazil with several local brewers from Curitiba and Porto Alegre. I got to sample hundreds of local beers from so many breweries and bottle shops, from the far south to the mouth of the Amazon. Everywhere we went I was treated like the guest of honor. Being surrounded by people with so much enthusiasm and appreciation and thirst for knowledge made every sip a pleasure.

What do you like to do in your time away from the brewery?

Time away from the brewery??